With the days counting down till the October 9th kickoff in NYC, CBGB Music & Film Festival has announced that renowned industry groundbreaker Seymour Stein will be bestowed with the inaugural CBGB Icon Award, honoring those industry trailblazers for supporting artists and music in meaningful ways.

Co-founder and chairman of Sire Records, one of the music industry’s most influential record labels and home to some of the most iconic names in modern music, Stein also serves as Senior Label A&R Executive - Independent Music, Warner Music Group.

“For the first ever CBGB Icon Award, there was really only one possible choice and that is Seymour Stein,” said CBGB Co-Owner Tim Hayes. “Seymour's career in the record industry stands alone as something truly amazing. One must applaud the fact that he took so many of the early CBGB bands like Ramones, the Dead Boys, and Talking Heads out from the Bowery to successes beyond measure. We are humbled that he has agreed to accept this award on Oct 8.”

Among the artists who Stein is credited in discovering and nurturing are Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club, Depeche Mode, the Smiths, the Cure, Echo and the Bunnymen, Erasure, the Cult, the Undertones, Madness, the Replacements, Ice T, and k.d. lang. As a testament of his impeccable abilities, he signed Madonna from his hospital bed while recovering from a heart infection. Soon after the ink dried, she recorded “Everybody” and went on to become the best-selling female artist of all time. Said Madonna of Seymour on record, "If I didn't meet Seymour Stein, I might still be a broke dancer living in Hell's Kitchen." Adds David Byrne, “Although one might want to bring a long handled spoon when dining with Seymour, he is one of the few record business guys still around who actually knows a song when he hears one. And he can sing them too.”

"We are thrilled to hear that Seymour is being presented with the 1st Annual CBGB Icon Award,” said Depeche Mode’s Dave Gahan. “Seymour came to see us in Basildon in 1980, signed us on the spot, and was responsible for bringing us to America. We wouldn't be where we are today without his help and guidance in our formative years. Thanks, Seymour, and congratulations." Added Ice-T, “When Seymour signed me, most of the music business thought rap was a fad. He told me that just because he didn’t understand my music, it didn’t make it invalid. To him, I sounded like Bob Dylan’.”

The 2013 CBGB Music & Film Festival will take place on October 9-13 in New York City and will feature hundreds of bands in venues across Manhattan and Brooklyn. The festival will also host more than 125 speakers during the conference and 60+ music themed movies as part of the largest music based film festival in the country.

The conference portion of CBGB Music & Film Festival will be held from October 9-13 at Lower Manhattan’s Landmark Sunshine Theater with performances at venues throughout New York City and Brooklyn.